Hotels to make extra $2 billion in fees

Additional fees for hotel amenities like internet access, fitness centres and other amenities are continuing to rise in the US. Hotels in the country will take around $1.95 billion from such sources in 2012, according to hospitality expert Bjorn Hanson – a 5.4% rise from last year. Yet they’re not forecast to go much higher as hotels have run out of things to charge for. The percentage increase this year is accounted for by the greater number of people travelling.“The list of fees now being charged is pretty long,” Hanson says, “so there aren’t a lot of opportunities to create new fees and surcharges.”But guests are increasingly angry about the fees, especially for internet access.“Expectations over internet access are being set by other industries,” Jessica McGregor, account manager at market research company JD Power and Associates, says. “You go to a coffee shop or restaurant and, oftentimes, the wifi is free. Paying for it at a hotel goes against what people have come to expect.”NBC[pictured: Link@Sheraton lobby, Sheraton Reston Hotel]